Research Summary
The report discusses key developments in the cryptocurrency sector, including MicroStrategy’s purchase of additional Bitcoin, Illuvium’s partnership with Team Liquid, ParaX’s rebranding to Parallel Finance, Sony’s move into digital assets, and the KyberSwap exploiter’s demands. It also covers Binance’s pilot of a banking triparty agreement, StakeWise V3’s launch, and Polygon’s partnership with DraftKings. The report also provides updates on trading volumes, trending assets, and total value locked (TVL) in various projects.
Key Takeaways
MicroStrategy’s Continued Bitcoin Accumulation
- MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Purchase: MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, has purchased an additional 16,130 Bitcoin at an average price of $36,785, amounting to a total of $593.3 million. This acquisition brings the firm’s total Bitcoin holdings to 174,530 Bitcoin at an average price of $30,252 per coin. The company is also considering raising $750 million through the sale of class A common stock.
Illuvium’s eSports Partnership and ParaX’s Rebranding
- Illuvium’s eSports Collaboration: Illuvium is partnering with eSports organization Team Liquid to release themed NFTs and advise on the development of games in the Illuvium ecosystem and their eSports scene.
- ParaX’s Rebranding: ParaX has rebranded to Parallel Finance after raising $30 million from Sequoia, Polychain, Blockchain Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, among others. Parallel Finance aims to be a “DeFi super app” by unifying lending, staking, and trading.
Sony’s Digital Asset Venture and KyberSwap Exploiter’s Demands
- Sony’s Digital Asset Patent: Sony has filed a patent that would enable players on their Playstation console to transfer digital assets to each other through blockchain technology. This move follows leaked Microsoft documents from September 2023 showing that Microsoft is looking to integrate crypto wallets into Xbox.
- KyberSwap Exploiter’s Demands: The KyberSwap exploiter who stole over $46 million has demanded complete executive control over Kyber, including the surrendering of all Kyber assets and temporary full authority over the KyberDAO. The exploiter has given a deadline of December 10th for their demands to be met.
Binance’s Banking Triparty Agreement and StakeWise V3 Launch
- Binance’s Triparty Agreement: Binance is piloting the first-ever Crypto triparty agreement, which allows institutional investors to keep collateral off-exchange in the custody of a third-party banking partner. The collateral can be in fiat or even US t-bills.
- StakeWise V3 Launch: StakeWise V3 launched with several upgrades and use cases for the StakeWise protocol. It allows any node operator and staker on Ethereum to mint their staked ETH LST, osETH. The upgrade also features a marketplace of staking offers, where users can choose a “vault” to stake their ETH based on the vault’s performance, infrastructure setup, MEV setup, and commission.
Polygon’s Partnership with DraftKings and Trending Assets
- Polygon’s Partnership with DraftKings: Polygon delegated over 60 million in MATIC to sports-betting firm DraftKings, who took a 100% staking commission, in exchange for publicly running a validator on the Polygon network. Despite being delegated 2% of total staked MATIC on Polygon, DraftKings’ validator failed to keep up with the network and was kicked off in September 2024.
- Trending Assets: The report highlights the performance of various cryptocurrencies, with UNIBOT and PRISMA being the top performers below $100M MC, MPL, RBN, and INJ leading above $100M MC, and RNDR and MNT being the top performers above $1B MC.
Actionable Insights
- Monitor MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Strategy: Given MicroStrategy’s significant Bitcoin holdings and plans to raise additional capital, it’s worth keeping an eye on the company’s future moves in the cryptocurrency market.
- Explore Illuvium’s eSports Collaboration: The partnership between Illuvium and Team Liquid could lead to interesting developments in the intersection of eSports and blockchain, particularly in the creation of themed NFTs and game development.
- Understand the Implications of Sony’s Digital Asset Patent: Sony’s patent for transferring digital assets via blockchain on their Playstation console could have significant implications for the gaming industry. It’s important to understand how this technology could change the way players interact with games and each other.
- Assess the Impact of Binance’s Triparty Agreement: Binance’s pilot of a crypto triparty agreement could change the way institutional investors handle collateral in the cryptocurrency market. This development could have significant implications for the broader crypto ecosystem.
- Consider the Performance of Trending Assets: The performance of various cryptocurrencies, such as UNIBOT, PRISMA, MPL, RBN, INJ, RNDR, and MNT, could provide insights into market trends and potential areas of interest for further research.
